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BS2423  .2.W19 

Walu!VCE,  Lew,  1827-1905. 

Boyhood  of  Christ, 


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THE  BOYHOOD  OF  CHRIST 


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BOYHOOD 


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telCALSV^J^ 


LEW  WALLACE 

Ben  Hurand  The  Fair  God 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

MARPFP    ,?,  RPnTMFn<:     FPWKI 

1889 


Copyright,  i88S,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 

AH  rights  reserved. 


TO 

THE 

SOUL   OF  MY 

MOTHER 

IN 

THE 

ULTIMATE    ISLES    OF    THE    BLEST,  SHE 

KNOWS 

ALL  THE   THINGS 

WHEREOF   THIS 

LITTLE   BOOK 

PROVES 

ME 

TO 

HAVE    BEEN    ONLY    DREAMING. 

PREFACE. 


O  HOULD  one  ask  of  another,  or  wonder  to  him- 
self,  why  I,  who  am  neither  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  nor  theologian,  nor  churchman,  have  pre- 
sumed to  write  this  book,  it  pleases  me  to  answer 
him  respectfully — I  wrote  it  to  fix  an  impression 
distinctly  in  my  mind. 

Asks  he  for  the  impression  thus  sought  to  be 
fixed  in  my  mind,  then  I  would  be  twice  happy 
did  he  content  himself  with  this  other  answer — 
the  Jesus  Christ  in  whom  I  believe  was,  in  all  the 
stages  of  his  life,  a  human  being.  His  divinity 
was  the  Spirit  within  him,  and  the  Spirit  was 
God. 

L.  W. 

Crawfoedsville,  Isd., 
June,  1888. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

"  '  EXALTIXG   THE    MOTUER   AXD    HER   SOX '"....   Fionthpiece 

"'THE  SHEPHERDS   GOING   TO  THE  WORSHIP'" 19 

THE   SHEPHERDS  AT   THE   CAVE 25 

THE   MOTHER  I\   EGYPT   REPOSING '31 

'"THEN  THEY   PURSUED   ON  FROM   CITY   TO   CITY,  CASTING  OUT 
SATANS   AS    THEY   WENT,   AND    HEALING    LEPERS,  AND   THE 

SICK  AND   MISERABLE'" 37 

'"BUT   WHEN   I    SAW   THIS   WOMAN,  AND   THIS   LITTLE    INFANT 

WITH   HER'" 43 

'"TO  DECK  HIMSELF  FROM  THE  ANEMONE-BEDS  OF  THE  HILLS'"  49 

'"THEY  WATCHED   HLM   WITH    JEALOUS  CARE'" 57 

'"THE   STORY  CAME   FIRST   FROM   HER'" 63 

MARY  TEACHING  JESUS   THE  ALPHABET 71 

'"LISTENING   FOR  VOICES'" 77 

THE  BOY  JESUS  IN   THE   TEMPLE 83 

'"BY  THE   ROADSIDE   ON  A   ROCK'" 91 

'"AT   THE   READER'S  PLACE   IN  THE   SYNAGOGUE'"      ....  97 


'"'•The  time  draws  near  the  birth  of  Christ; 
The  moon  is  hid;   the  night  is  still ; 
The  Christmas  hells  from  hill  to  hill 
Answer  each  other  in  the  mistP 


THE   BOYHOOD   OF   CHRIST. 


ET  us  go  see  Uncle  Midas." 

"  Oh  yes !     Let  us  go  aiifl 
have  him  talk  to  us." 

Outside  the  house  all  was 
winter,  still  and  cold ;  inside 
were  summer  warmth,  a  rosy 
glow  of  light,  and  music  and 
merry  voices ;  for  it  was  Christmas 
eve,  and  the  young  people  of  the 
fi  town  had  met  to  celebrate  it.  Uncle 
Midas  held  that  such  was  the  right  wel- 
come of  the  glad  event.  The  sweetest  song  men 
ever  heard  was  that  of  the  singers  who  came 
with  the  Annunciator ;  and  arguing  that  the  les- 
son was  cheerfulness  and  joy,  the  old  gentleman 
opened  his  doors  to  the  boys  and  girls,  and  was 
himself  happy,  knowing  they  were  happy. 

2 


16  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

Now,  she  who  at  the  moment  thought  of  Uncle 
Midas,  and  said  let  us  go  see  him,  and  she  who  an- 
swered so  willingly,  Avere  more  than  girls,  yet  not 
quite  young  Avomen.  They  carried  their  child- 
ish names,  but  had  lovers,  each  a  number  of 
them ;  and  while  they  would  laugh  and  dance 
and  never  tire,  'midst  it  all  they  C(Hdd  allow  a  se- 
rious thought.  The  first  of  the  two  to  speak  was 
Nan,  the  other  was  Puss,  and  in  their  dissimilari- 
ty they  Avere  pretty.  Moreover,  for  persons  so 
young  they  were  Avell  read,  and  could  talk  of 
great  events  and  take  delight  in  hearing  of  far 
countries.  So,  leaving  the  waltzes  and  the  fid- 
dling and  merriment,  and  the  harmless  play  that 
leads  to  love,  and  the  dear  delusions  so  like  love 
that  even  the  wise  often  yield  to  their  enchant- 
ment only  to  lind  themselves  mistaken,  the  two, 
hand  in  hand,  stole  out  of  the  parlor  door  on  the 
way  to  Uncle  Midas. 

They  came  first  to  a  conservatory  full  of  ver- 
dant treasures.  Amongst  them,  specially  in  fa- 
vor, were  a  palm-tree  bearing  stoneless  dates,  and 
a  vine  loaded  with  black  grapes  large  as  damson- 
plums.      "  This,"  Uncle  Midas  would  say  of  the 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  17 

palm,  "  was  given  me  by  the  monks  of  Mar-Saaba. 
The  tree  I  saw  them  cut  it  from  was  the  only 
green  thing  in  their  grim  monastery.  And  this  " 
—  the  vine  — ''  was  from  a  garden  just  outside 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem.  Of  such  were  the  grapes 
of  Eshcol.  And  see  there,"  he  would  say  of  a  cer- 
tain dwarfish  shrub ;  "  I  plucked  an  acorn  from 
the  oak  at  Manu'e,  where  the  angels  rested  with 
the  patriarch.  Two  thousand  years  hence  it 
might  be  suggestive  of  its  paternity."  There  were 
but  few  tiowers  under  the  glass  roof.  "  Flowers 
remind  me  of  nothing  so  much  as  their  frailty, 
but  these  " — and  he  would  look  proudly  and  kind- 
ly at  the  palm  and  the  out-stretching  vine  and 
their  less  ambitious  accessories — "  these  keep  me 
reminded  of  famous  places  I  have  seen,  of  per- 
sons, and  of  the  ventures  with  which  my  days 
of  nerve  and  will  were  seasoned.  When  at  last 
one  comes  to  live  in  the  by-gone,  as  I  am  living, 
it  is  good  to  have  such  dependents  always  at  his 
door  to  salute  him,  'Hey,  you  remember  this?'  or 
'Have  you  forgotten  that?'  Yon  pomegranate, 
for  example.  I  wrenched  it  from  the  terrace  of  a 
Greek  garden  on  the  Bosporus,  and  now  if  I  stop 


18  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

to  lighten  it  of  a  dead  twig,  it  begins  straightway 
whispering  to  me  of  misty  mornings  breaking 
over  great  ships  coming  and  going  in  endless 
processions,  and  of  afternoon  dreams  dreamed  in 
caiques  drifting  along  the  empurpled  shores  of 
the  hill-bound  bay  of  Buyukdere." 

Passing  through  the  conservatory,  the  visitors, 
by  a  door  overhung  with  sheeny  jyortieres,  entered 
a  study  which  was  itself  a  study.  With  respect 
to  interiors,  proportions  are  always  perfect  when 
they  raise  no  questions.  No  one  ever  asked  Uncle 
Midas  about  the  height  of  this  room,  or  its  length 
and  breadth.  There  Avas  in  the  centre  a  carpet 
from  the  looms  of  Smyrna,  deep-tufted,  and  of  in- 
digo blue  almost  black.  A  desk  of  rose-tinted 
cherry-wood  in  the  middle  of  the  carpet  was  over- 
looked by  a  "  Pensieroso  "  of  Angelo  in  Castellina 
marble.  As  there  was  but  one  dooi',  so  there  was 
but  one  window,  and  it,  too,  was  richly  draped. 
Bookcases  of  cherry,  much  carven,  hung  from 
three  sides.  A  flame  burned  brightly  in  a  broad 
open  fireplace,  and  an  old  gold -colored  rug  of 
Khorassan  caught  the  light  of  the  flame,  and  held 
it  in  lustrous  imprisonment.     A  circular  window 


'THE   SHEPHERDS   GOING  TO  THE   WORSHIP.'" 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  21 

in  the  shallow  arch  of  the  ceiling  permitted  day 
in  its  hours  to  flood  the  interior,  until  the  letter- 
ing of  the  books,  on  shelves  not  higher  than  an 
easy  hand-reach,  sparkled  like  jewelry. 

It  is  hardly  enough  to  call  the  chamber  a  study. 
Uncle  Midas  had  led  a  busy  life ;  he  had  been  a 
lawyer,  a  soldier,  an  author,  and  a  traveller;  he 
had  dabbled  in  art,  diplomacy,  and  politics ;  and, 
like  most  men  so  diversely  occupied,  there  had 
never  been  a  day  in  which  he  had  not  promised 
himself  to  let  his  mind  say  to  his  body,  "Thou 
hast  served  me  well,  and  carried  me  about  for 
much  teaching,  and  I  have  profited  much ;  now, 
0  good  servant,  take  thine  ease;  the  gathered 
fruits  are  waiting,  and  I  alone  will  continue  to 
labor."  At  length,  noting  the  coming  of  his  mid- 
afternoon  of  life,  he  determined  to  make  the  prom- 
ise good.  Towards  that  end  he  built  the  study, 
and  tied  it  to  his  house  with  the  conservatory, 
reserving  the  shelves  for  those  other  and  higher 
associates  which,  in  their  cloaks  of  cloth  and  gold, 
would  also  wait  for  him,  and,  being  called,  begin 
talking  in  a  manner  the  cleverest  tongue  cannot 
attain,  and  of  every  possible  theme  of  human  in- 


22  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

terest.  For  such  are  books !  With  good  women, 
they  are  the  superlative  solace  of  waning  years. 
Then,  the  preparations  all  complete,  he  retired 
from  the  pursuits  which  have  their  origin  in  am- 
bition, and  betook  himself  to  study  and  retiection, 
believing  that  the  capacity  to  think  was  a  neces- 
sary accomplishment  for  the  next  life,  and  that 
it  could  be  carried  there  with  him.  The  sick  and 
desponding  sometimes  take  to  their  chairs,  grimly 
waiting  for  death ;  but  in  perfect  health,  with  a 
plentiful  reserve  of  strength,  a  contentment  which 
with  him  was  but  another  name  for  charity,  and 
a  satisftiction  perpetually  exercising  itself  in  find- 
ing excuses  for  the  follies  and  frailties  of  stran- 
gers as  well  as  acquaintances,  he  sat  down  in 
his  study  calmly  and  with  deliberate  forethought, 
that  his  soul  might  educate  and  fit  itself  for  the 
life  to  come.  "And  this,"  he  used  to  say,  "shall 
no  man  be  able  to  do  except  he  believe  in  Jesus 
Christ." 

Now,  when  the  visitors  had  come  into  the  study, 
they  saw  Uncle  Midas  in  his  rocking-chair  before 
the  fire,  and  as  they  ran  to  him  they  cried  out, 
cheerily,  "  Oh,  Uncle  Midas  !" 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF  CHRIST.  23 

And  he  arose  and  answered  as  cheerily,  "Heigh! 
Puss — and  N"an !" 

And  he  would  have  got  them  chairs,  for  he 
was  a  gentleman  faithful  to  all  the  canons  of  the 
old  school ;  but  they  divined  his  purpose,  and 
were  quicker  than  he ;  and  when  the  chairs  were 
brought  and  set  at  his  right  near  his  arm,  and 
he  Avas  seated,  they  kissed  him  affectionately. 

Uncle  Midas,  it  must  be  said,  did  not  look  his 
sixty  and  five  years.  He  was  tall,  white-haired, 
and  white  -  mustached.  This  evening  he  was  in 
slippers  and  dressing-gown.  A  gray  silk  cap  had 
the  effect  to  deepen  the  ineradicable  sun-tan  of 
his  cheeks. 

"Well,  Avell,"  he  said,  "yonder  are  beaux  and 
music  and  dance ;  here  there  is  only  an  old  man ; 
yet  you  leave  them  and  come  to  him?" 

"Yes;  we  have  come  to  hear  you  talk,"  said 
Nan. 

A  wave  of  nuisic,  splashing  through  the  open 
door,  streamed  into  the  study. 

"  Hark  !"  he  said.  "  Who  may  talk  to  young 
people  against  liddles  timing  a  waltz  ?" 

"  You  can — and  must,"  said  Puss. 


24        THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

"Must?"  he  repeated. 

"  That  was  the  word ;"  and  the  pretty  girl,  rest- 
ing her  elbows  on  the  arm  of  his  chair,  looked  up 
under  his  brows  with  an  infinite  persuasion  in  her 
blue  eyes.     His  hand  dropped  upon  her  shoulder. 

"I  see  I  must;  but — did  you  think  to  bring  a 
subject  with  you  ?" 

"Yes,  indeed." 

"You  were  very  wise." 

"  It  was — "  She  glanced  appealingly  at  Nan  ; 
and  Nan  answered  with  a  bright  look,  "  The  Boy- 
hood of  Christ." 

Uncle  Midas  turned  his  face  to  the  fire ;  then 
his  head  dropped  lower,  allowing  the  flame  to 
redden  his  forehead  and  repeat  itself  in  his  eyes. 
The  suggestion  was  plainly  a  surprise  to  him. 

"  Why  that  subject  ?"  he  asked,  to  gain  a  little 
time. 

"Because  it's  Christmas  eve." 

"Yes,  yes ;   I  had  almost  forgotten." 

"  And  then,"  Puss  added,  "  it  is  so  hard  to 
think  of  him  as  a  boy — I  mean  to  think  of  him 
running,  jumping,  playing  marbles,  flying  kites, 
spinning  tops,  and  going  about  all  day  on  mis- 


THE  SHEPHERDS   AT  THE   CAVE. 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  27 


chiefs,  such  as  throwing  stones  and  robbing  birds'- 
nests." 

Uncle  Midas  looked  up  with  a  grave  smile. 
"  Rest  you,  little  friend,"  he  said  ;  "  if  the  Naza- 
rene  lads  of  his  day  had  tops,  marbles,  and  kites 
—I  am  not  sure  they  had— I  Avould  prefer  to  be- 
lieve he  found  enjoyment  in  them." 
"  Oh,  Uncle  Midas !" 
The  good  man's  smile  vanished. 
"I  see,"  he  said,  "you  are  going  the  way  of 
the  many;  by- and -by  you  will  not  be  able  to 
think  of  our  Lord  as  a  man.     To  mo  his  human 
birth  was  as  much  a  divine  fact  as  anything  in 
all  his  sublime  story." 

Uncle  Midas  turned  to  the  fire  again,  as  if  to 
assure  himself  of  an  idea. 

"I  find  my  love  of  God,"  he  presently  resumed, 
"  does  not  of  itself  help  me  stand  up  under  the 
unutterable  thought  of  Him.  He  is  so  beyond 
my  comprehension.  But  for  Christ— ah,  how  dif- 
ferent my  feeling !  He  is  my  friend,  my  brother ; 
I  could  have  borne  to  look  into  his  face ;  I  could 
have  even  laid  my  head  fearlessly  upon  his  breast. 
Why?     Because  he  was  a  man— a  man  capable 


28         THE  BOYHOOD    OF  CHRIST. 

of  returning  my  love  in  vastest  measure,  and 
therefore  of  easy  understanding  —  a  man  who 
actually  died  for  me,  and  of  whose  dying  I  am  so 
much  better." 

At  this  he  stopped ;  whereupon  the  fiddles, 
taking  advantage  of  the  silence,  flung  some  of 
their  liveliest  notes  into  the  study. 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  any  one  deny  the  human 
nature  of  the  Saviour?  I  never  did,"  said  Nan, 
solemnly. 

"  But  there  are  plenty  to  skip  it  as  unbecoming 
their  ideal  of  him,"  Uncle  Midas  replied,  sharply. 
And  then  continued :  "  Two  pictures  always  pre- 
sent themselves  Avhen  I  think  of  our  Lord  in  his 
character  of  Man.  A  little  plain  near  Bethlehem 
is  illuminated  in  the  night-time  by  a  light  dropped 
from  the  sky;  and  in  the  light  there  is  move- 
ment and  the  flashing  of  wings,  and  one  figure  of 
indescribable  majesty  speaks  to  some  cowering 
shepherds,  '  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on 
earth  peace,  good-will  to  men.'  This  was  the  sec- 
ond annunciation,  and  the  beautiful  speech  is  a 
simple  definition  of  the  relation  of  Christ  to  men. 
And  then  the  scene  changes,  giving  me  to  see  three 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  29 


crosses  planted  upon  a  low  hill  with  millions  of 
people  around  it ;  and  there  is  a  gloom,  almost 
darkness,  in  which  the  crosses  rock  to  and  fro, 
yielding  to  an  earthquake,  and  upon  one  of  them 
a  man,  nailed  hands  and  feet,  lifts  his  face,  over- 
hung with  blood}^  locks,  and  cries,  as  if  expiring, 
'Father,  into  Thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit.' 
And  the  awfulness  of  the  sight,  my  little  friends, 
does  not  hide  from  me  that  the  sufferer,  dying  as 
he  was,  tarried  a  moment  to  make  definition  of 
his  relation  to  God." 

Uncle  Midas's  voice  shook;  he  was  evidently 
very  much  in  earnest ;  and  while  he  rested,  possi- 
bly to  give  his  fair  listeners  time  to  comprehend 
his  argument,  thei-e  was  a  quick  step  behind  the 
party,  and  they  all  turned  to  a  new-comer.  Again 
Uncle  Midas  Avould  have  risen,  but  Puss  stayed 
him. 

"It's  only  John,"  she  said. 

The  person  so  familiarly  spoken  of  approached. 

"  Do  not  move,"  he  said  to  Uncle  Midas.  "  I 
come  to  tell  Puss  that  the  quadrille  is  forming, 
and  if  she  wants  to  be  in  it,  we  must  hurry." 

Uncle  Midas  glanced  at  John   and  Puss,  and 


30         THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

smiled.     "  It's  only  John,"  meant  a  great  deal  to 
him. 

"  Thank  you,"  she  replied  ;  "  I  will  not  dance 
now.  Uncle  is  talking.  Bring  a  chair  and  join 
us.     He  will  not  object,  I  am  sure." 

Then,  when  John  was  seated.  Uncle  Midas  said, 
"  As  the  young  man  has  kindly  consented  to  be 
of  our  audience,  it  is  but  fair.  Puss,  that  you  tell 
him  of  what  we  are  talking."  And  Puss  did 
so,  after  which  Uncle  Midas  proceeded :  "  The 
vision  of  the  Crucifixion  never  visits  me  with- 
out another — a  veritable  picture  hanging  in  the 
Pitti  Gallery  in  Florence — the  '  Ecce  Homo '  of 
Carlo  Dolce.  In  artistic  phrase,  it  is  an  ideal- 
ization of  the  face  of  Christ,  yet  there  is  much 
more  of  it  than  a  mere  face.  An  ordinary  ex- 
pert can  nuike  features  in  likeness,  but  the  ren- 
dition on  canvas  of  a  thought,  a  passion,  an 
emotion  of  the  soul,  a  face  being  used  for  the 
purpose,  is  a  subtlety  of  genius  of  the  highest 
order ;  and  then  the  picture  is  in  fact  a  portrait 
of  the  thought,  passion,  or  emotion.  In  this  sense 
the  'Ecce  Homo'  of  which  I  am  speaking  is  a 
portrait  of  the  agony  of  Christ  dying,  and  to  me 


THE   MOTHER  IN   EGYPT   REPOSING. 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  33 

there  is  nothing  in  the  world  of  art  of  such 
overpowering  effect.  The  croAvn  of  thorns,  the 
dusty,  clotted  locks,  the  blood -drops  and  sweat- 
stains,  are  utilized  ;  but  they  do  no  more  than 
identify  the  subject  and  the  moment.  There  is 
no  contraction  of  brow  or  writhing  of  facial  mus- 
cle ;  the  lower  lip  hangs  a  little  apart,  a  deadly 
pallor  overcasts  the  countenance,  the  eyes — ah, 
therein  lies  the  achievement !  Even  in  their 
faintness  they  somehow  fasten  upon  the  behold- 
er, and  say  to  him,  with  a  pathos  far  beyond 
the  power  of  words,  'See  to  what  I  have  been 
brought  —  I  who  came  to  tell  you  of  a  loving 
God,  of  resurrection  after  death,  of  a  better  life 
in  store  for  you — I  who  only  asked  you  to  love 
and  believe  in  me  !'  " 

"I  will  certainly  see  that  picture  when  I  get 
to  Florence,"  said  John,  who  had  been  listening 
with  the  sharpest  intensity. 

Uncle  Midas  waved  his  hand  gently.  ''And 
you  will  then  understand  the  lesson  it  taught 
me.  As  the  artist  could  not  have  painted  the 
agony  of  the  Lord  without  giving  us  his  face,  so 
it  is  not  possible  for  us  to  be  convinced  of  his 


34  THE  BOYHOOD    OF  CHRIST. 

divinity  except  by  the  self-comparisons  which  a 
recognition  of  his  human  nature  aifords." 

"  But,  Uncle—"  said  Nan. 

"  I  hear  you,"  he  answered,  wath  a  glance  which 
as  much  as  said  he  knew  her  thought. 

"You  were  to  talk  to  us  about — " 

She  hesitated. 

"About  the  boyhood," he  said,  smiling.  "Well, 
little  one,  your  reminder  only  satisfies  me  that 
my  preface  has  not  failed  its  object.  You  are 
impatient  to  hear  the  kind  of  boy  such  a  man 
as  Christ  was ;  and  we  w^ll  now  inquire  if  he 
had  a  boyhood,  except  as  the  years  of  that  stage 
of  life  can  be  so  called." 

The  old  gentleman  drew  his  brows  down  over 
his  eyes,  gazed  into  the  fire  a  while,  looked  up 
again,  and  asked,  "Perhaps,  Nan,  you  can  tell 
me  the  incidents  in  which  the  Lord  as  a  child 
is  made  to  ajjpear  in  the  Scriptures?" 

"  Yes :  when  the  shepherds  came  to  worship 
him ;  at  the  visit  of  the  Magi ;  the  flight  into 
Egypt  ;  the  presentation  in  the  Temple  ;  and 
when  he  was  found  with  the  doctors  at  the  end 
of  the  Passover." 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF  CHRIST.  35 

"Thank  you,  dear,"  Uncle  Midas  said,  with  a 
bow;  then  immediately  continued:  "Now  is  it 
not  amazing  that  the  youth  of  one  Avho  intended 
so  well  and  actually  did  so  much,  who  left  us 
the  most  pathetic  of  histories,  who  will  remain 
forever  the  perfect  standard  of  comparative  holi- 
ness, applicable  alike  to  every  phase  and  circum- 
stance of  human  life,  whose  hold  upon  men  has 
already  proven  him  a  prophet  unto  himself,  and 
still  goes  on  widening  and  deepening — how  won- 
derful, I  say,  that  the  childhood  of  such  a  man 
should  be  so  beggarly  of  authentic  incident!" 

"But  is  it  so?"  asked  John,  impulsively.  "I 
am  sure  I  have  somewhere  heard  anecdotes  of 
his  infancy,  if  not  his  boyhood." 

"  Very  likely,"  said  Uncle  Midas :  "  and  a  word 
or  two  of  them.  The  people  who  had  actually 
seen  the  Saviour  were  hardly  passed  away  before 
the  incompleteness  of  the  records  pertaining  to 
him  became  painfully  manifest,  especially  to  the 
controversialists  who  had  zealously  espoused  his 
teachings.  The  authors  of  the  four  canonical  Gos- 
pels were  not  biographers  in  the  modern  sense 
of  tli€  word.     In  their  great  anxiety  to  get  large 


36  THE  BOYHOOD    OF  CHRIST. 

facts  set  down  iinperishably  they  overlooked  the 
small.  For  example,  so  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
were  reported,  of  what  importance  was  it  to  them 
to  tell  of  the  Master's  appearance?  and  whether 
he  had  blue  eyes  or  black,  or  was  fair  or  dark, 
or  tall  or  short,  or  lean  or  fat  ?  The  incidents  of 
his  birth  are  copious,  yet  as  we  read  them  there 
comes  to  us  a  feeling  that  they  would  have  been 
cut  shorter  had  it  not  been  essential  to  establish 
his  coming  into  the  world  in  exact  fulfilment  of 
the  prophecies.  There  is  no  mistaking  the  na- 
tionality of  the  four  apostolic  clerks.  Relatively 
to  the  year  36,  which  was  that  of  the  Orucitixion, 
there  is  a  non-agreement  as  to  the  times  in  which 
they  wrote.  One  learned  man  says  St.  Matthew's 
book  was  completed  two  years  after  the  sad 
event ;  St.  Luke's,  fifteen  years  after ;  St.  Mark's, 
twenty  -  seven ;  and  St.  eTohn's,  thirty- three.  Yet 
later,  when  the  hunger  of  piety  seized  the  world, 
numbers  of  men  of  sanctity  betook  themselves  to 
the  duty,  as  they  conceived  it,  of  supplying  miss- 
ing data.  The  second,  third,  and  fourth  centuries 
were  prolific  in  such  works.  Saintly  recluses  en- 
livened the  loneliness  of  their  cells  and  caverns 


THEN  THEY  PURSUED  ON  FROM  CITY  TO  CITY, 
CASTING  OUT  SATANS  AS  THEY  WENT,  AND 
HEALING  LEPERS,  AND  THE  SICK  AND  MISER- 
ABLE.' " 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  39 

by  writing  and  rewriting,  each  in  a  style  mod- 
elled more  or  less  after  the  Scriptures,  the  legends 
of  the  Holy  Family  with  which  the  Christian  East 
abounded.  Very  often  they  resorted  to  downright 
invention,  coloring  the  product  with  their  pious 
inclinations.  Seventy  such  screeds,  all  now  lost, 
are  known  from  mention  in  living  books,  and 
they  must  have  been  but  a  few  of  the  many. 
Enough  have  survived  to  give  us  an  idea  of  the 
assortment.  The  tale  of  Christ's  descent  into  hell 
belongs  to  the  class — a  bold  conception  that  may 
have  had  to  do  with  Milton's  great  epic.  We 
hear  also  of  a  hymn  our  Lord  is  said  to  have 
taught  his  disciples,  and  the  thought  of  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  beget  a  wish  that  the  lines  had  been 
preserved  ;  the  novelty  of  the  fancy  attracts  us 
that  much  at  least.  Under  the  sanction  of  time 
the  vagaries  of  which  I  am  speaking  entered  into 
the  faith  of  Christians  to  an  astonishing  degree. 
In  the  monkish  ei'a  of  England  they  served  the 
clergy  as  foundations  for  the  holiday  spectacles 
with  which  they  so  successfully  impressed  the 
illiterate  peasantry.  Still  later,  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  as  great  a  personage  as  Francis  I.  had 

4 


40  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

them  dressed  up  as  a  drama,  entitled  '  The  Grand 
Mystery  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.'  The  perform- 
ance, crowded,  it  is  said,  with  four  hundi'ed  and 
eighty-five  dramatis  personce,  was  given  in  Paris, 
and  filled  several  days,  reminding  us  of  the  Pas- 
sion Play  of  the  Shi-ite  Mohammedans,  still  of 
annual  i-epetition  in  India,  requiring  when  fully 
rendered  eleven  days.  The  affecting  tragedy 
displayed  at  Oberammergau  is  not  an  original 
conception.  Coming  to  my  purpose,  however" 
— and  Uncle  Midas  filled  a  pause  with  a  pleas- 
ant look  darted  at  the  circle,  as  if  to  pray  pardon, 
and  give  assurance  that  he  had  had  a  point  all 
the  time  in  view — "  the  stories  my  young  friend 
alludes  to  are  mostly  to  be  found  in  a  book  called 
'  The  First  Gospel  of  the  Infancy  of  Jesus  Christ.' 
There  is  another  of  the  same  school,  but  purely 
reiterative,  and  so  inferior  as  to  be  unworthy  no- 
tice. The  so-called  'First  Gospel,'  if  its  origin  is 
correctly  stated,  is  referable  to  the  second  cen- 
tury at  least,  as  in  that  period  there  was  a  sect 
known  as  Gnostics  who  received  it  implicitly. 
We  are  also  told  of  a  number  of  deeply  learned 
and  illustrious  Fathers  of  the  Church  who  flour- 


THE   BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  41 


ished  in  succeeding  times,  and  read  and  believed 
it,  amongst  others  Athanasius  and  Chrysostom. 
It  has  even  been  charged  that  Mahomet  drew 
from  its  pages  while  he  was  composing  portions 
of  the  Koran.  The  most  curious  circumstance 
connected  with  it,  however,  is  the  Persian  legend 
— that  our  Lord  was  a  dyer  by  trade,  and  once 
wrought  a  miracle  with  colors  ;  and  such  credit 
is  said  to  have  been  given  the  myth  that  the 
Persian  dyers  held  him  in  reverence  as  their 
patron,  and  actually  styled  their  dye  -  houses 
Shops  of  Chi'isf." 

"Shocking!"  exclaimed  Puss. 
"  And  to  call  that  reverence !    Fie  on  you.  Un- 
cle!" added  Nan. 

The  old  gentleman  smiled  submissively  as  he 
replied :  "  The  description  seemed  to  require  the 
word.  And  then  we  should  not  forget  that  while 
as  a  sentiment  reverence  may  be  universally  the 
same  it  nevertheless  admits  of  the  widest  dif- 
ferences in  expression.  The  dyers  thought  they 
were  doing  our  Lord  the  highest  honor.  But 
let  me  on.  This  'First  Gospel  of  the  Infancy' 
was  past  venture  the  hive  into  which  the  legends 


42         THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

devised  to  meet  the  want  of  knowledge  of  Christ 
in  the  morning  of  his  earthly  life  weie  drawn 
together.  The  author — or  authors,  if  you  please 
— had  it  in  heart  to  exalt  the  mother  and  her 
son.  The  one  he  calls  the  Lady  St.  Mary,  the 
other  the  Lord  Jesus.  The  quality  of  the  epi- 
thets he  uses  are  above  criticism ;  more  than 
respectful,  they  are  endearing.  Happily  the  ac- 
cessaries that  go  with  the  incidents  of  his  nar- 
rative at  once  expose  him  as  a  believer  without 
judgment,  a  man  determined  to  fill  at  least  one 
void  in  the  Chronicles,  if  he  can,  regardless  of 
truth,  and  uncontrolled  by  the  slightest  sense  of 
fitness  or  consistency." 

"Do  you  remember  any  of  the  stories?"  ask- 
ed a  listener. 

"Oh  yes." 

"  Some  of  us  have  never  heard  them." 

A  look  as  if  something  unpleasant  had  been 
suggested  to  him  deepened  the  wrinkle  between 
Uncle  Midas's  brows ;  but  it  was  momentary. 

"I  do  not  like  them,  my  young  friends,"  he 
answered,  somewhat  slowly,  "They  detract  from 
the  exceeding  holiness  of  the  personages  of  whom 


" '  BUT   WHEN   I   SAW  THIS   WOMAN,  AND   THIS 
LITTLE   INFANT  WITH   HER.'" 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 


they  ai-e  told,  and  are  utterly  out  of  character. 
At  the  same  time  it  must  be  admitted  that  I 
have  gone  too  far  in  speaking  of  them  to  now 
dismiss  them  summarily.  You  are  entitled  to 
examples  sufficient  to  show  you  how  trifling  and 
puerile  they  are." 

The  auditors,  as  at  a  signal,  drew  closer  about 
the  old  gentleman's  chair,  and  when  all  was 
quiet  he  continued  : 

"The  writer  begins  with  the  birth,  but  tells 
nothing  about  it  of  importance  not  better  told 
by  good  old  St.  Matthew.    He  gives  himself  free 
rein,  however,  when   describing   the  wanderings 
of  the  Holy  Family  in  Egypt.     In  that  episode, 
so  interesting  to  the  imagination  of  every  Gospel 
reader,  he  makes  the  Lady  St.  Mary  the  prin- 
cipal character.     As  if  she  were  a  vulgar  show- 
woman   of  the    miraculous    powers   of  her   son, 
and  they  a  subject  of  connnon  pride,  she  exhibits 
them  in  the  towns  along  the  way,  and  in  com- 
pensation accepts  entertainments  and   presents. 
Sometimes  she  takes  to  the  road  quite  enriched. 
Through   the   child,  it   is   true,  she  in   instances 
brings    good    to    unhappy    people;    yet,  with    a 


4C  THE   BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 


strange  iinmindfiilness  on  the  author's  part  of 
the  necessity  that  drove  Joseph  out  of  Judea, 
the  results  are  of  a  kind  to  excite  report  vast 
enough  to  reach  the  remorseless  King  still  alive 
and  watchful  up  in  the  palace  on  Mount  Zion. 
"With  a  vanity  of  faith  almost  pardonable, 
the  story-teller  thought  it  of  first  importance  to 
signalize  the  advent  of  the  precious  fugitives 
into  the  new  south -country.  "With  that  intent 
he  informs  us  they  came  to  a  great  city.  Pass- 
ing its  name  and  locality,  he  gravely  assures  us 
that  the  journey  thither  was  so  long  that  the 
girths  of  the  Lady  St.  Mary's  saddle  broke.  Tbe 
city  was  the  home  of  an  idol  to  Avhich  all  the 
other  idols  and  gods  of  Egypt  brought  offerings 
and  vows.  As  if  that  were  not  enough  to  give 
us  a  just  idea  of  how  very  great  this  particular 
idol  was,  we  are  further  told  that  it  was  an 
intimate  of  Satan's,  and  that  through  its  chief 
priest  it  was  in  the  habit  of  taking  the  Egyp- 
tians into  contidence,  and  telling  tliem  all  the 
arch-enemy  told  it.  J()se])h  and  Mary  betook 
themselves  to  an  inn  which  happened  to  be 
close  to  the  temple  of  the  master  idol,  and  their 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  J^i 


mere    presence    there    astonished    the    city    and 
filled  the  land  with  fear.     Presently  the  magis- 
trates   and    priests    ran    together,    asking    what 
was   the   matter,    and    the   idol    answered,   'The 
Unknown  God  is  come  hither,  beside  whom  no 
other   is    entitled    to    worship.      He    it    is    that 
makes  all  the  trembling  of  men  and  lesser  dei- 
ties.'    Thei-enpon,  as  if  to  confirm  the  news,  the 
distinguished   idol   fell  down,  and    the   noise  of 
his   fall  was    so  prodigious  that  all  Egypt   and 
the  peoples  of  the  countries  near  by  assembled, 
presumably   to   take   counsel    what   they  should 
do.     In  such  phrase  the  simple  story-teller,  for- 
getful of  Herod  and  the  myrmidons  whom  that 
monster  had  out  scouring  everywhere,  exalts  our 
Lord.     And  so  it  has  always  been,  when  writ- 
ers would  monnt  into  the  ultimate  sublime,  they 
set   the   gods   to  fighting   and   wear  themselves 
out  giving  us  to  see  the  battle." 

"  Well,  Uncle,  in  this  instance  the  victory  was 
given  where  it  belongs,"  said  Puss,  demurely. 

"True  enough,"  Uncle  Midas  replied,  with  an 
approving  smile;  "but  the  tale  does  not  stop 
there.    The  devout  old  romancer  must  needs  in- 


4:8  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

crease  the  glory  won.  He  accordingly  holds  the 
curtain  aside  while  the  Lady  St.  Mary  proceeds 
to  perform  her  first  direct  miracle.  It  appears 
that  the  priest  of  the  demolished  idol  had  a  son 
three  years  old  'possessed  with  a  multitude  of 
devils  of  many  strange  utterances,'  who  moved 
the  poor  child  to  tear  his  clothes  and  throw 
stones  at  passers-by." 

"  How  old  was  he  ?" 

"The  chronicle  says  three  years — certainly  an 
uncommon  example  of  precocious  wickedness. 
About  the  time  that  everybody,  except  the  three 
travellers,  were  up  at  the  temple,  the  unfortu- 
nate came  to  the  inn  flushed  Avith  all  his  tor- 
mentors. What  grief  might  have  befallen,  and 
to  whom,  we  are  not  left  to  conjecture,  for  the 
Lady  St.  Mary  had  a  little  before  washed  the 
swaddling  clothes  of  the  Lord  Christ,  and  hung 
them  upon  a  post  to  dry.  The  visitor  took  one 
of  them  and  put  it  upon  his  head,  whereupon  a 
cloud  of  devils  poured  out  of  his  mouth,  and  as 
crows  and  serpents  flew  away." 

There  was  a  disposition  to  laugh  at  this  d^- 
noumcnt,  but   Uncle    Midas    checked    it    with    a 


'"TO   DECK  HIMSELF   FROM  THE  ANEMONE-BEDS 
OF   THE   HILLS.'" 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  61 


ne2;ative  shake  of  the  hand,  and  was  about  to 
go  on  when  a  lad  ran  in  and  called  out,  "  H'lo ! 
Partners  for  the  dance!  The  fiddlers  are  wait- 
ing." But  seeing  the  group  around  the  chair, 
he  joined  it,  and  forgot  his  errand.  Then  Uncle 
Midas,  well  pleased,  continued : 

"The  next  adventure  was  with  robbers.  Jo- 
seph and  the  Lady  St.  Mary,  when  they  heard 
that  the  idol  was  destroyed,  were  afraid,  and  cast 
about,  counselling  what  they  should  do.  Taking 
a  bold  resolution,  they  left  the  inn  hastily,  and 
fled  to  a  place  notoriously  the  haunt  of  outlaws, 
who  made  it  a  practice  to  rob  travellers  and 
carry  them  away.  The  story-teller  does  not  say 
so,  but  it  is  likely  that  the  'knights  of  the  road' 
of  that  day  set  the  custom  of  holding  their  pris^ 
oners  for  ransom  yet  observed  by  brigands  of  the 
East,  and,  like  the  latter,  they  may  have  gone 
the  length  of  cutting  ears  off"  for  the  first  failure 
to  pay,  and  noses  for  the  second.  Presumably 
Joseph's  goods  were  neither  many  nor  of  great 
value  ;  but  the  life  of  the  young  child  was 
worth  the  world  many  times  over  -  appraised. 
Hardly  was  he  come  to  the  perilous  place  when 


52         THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

the  thieves  heard  what  is  fittingly  described  '  as 
the  noise  of  a  king  with  a  great  army,  and  many 
horse,  and  the  trumpets  sounding.'  Then  think- 
ing, doubtless,  that  justice  was  upon  them,  they 
in  turn  were  panic-struck,  and  ran,  leaving  all 
their  plunder ;  whereat  the  prisoners  set  them- 
selves free,  and  took  each  his  own  goods,  and 
as  they  were  going  they  met  Joseph  and  the 
Lady  St.  Mary.  'Where  is  that  king  who  scared 
the  robbers  off  ?'  they  asked  ;  and  Joseph,  as 
became  a  diplomat,  replied,  'He  will  come  after 
us.'  " 

At  this  ponclusion  the  young  people  clapped 
their  hands,  and  pressed  Uncle  Midas  to  proceed, 
and  he  did  so : 

"  The  Holy  Family  at  length  arrived  at  another 
city,  and  seeing  there  a  woman  possessed  witli 
a  devil  the  Lady  St.  Mary  pitied  her;  and  the 
merciful  thought  of  the  pure  sweet  heart  was 
of  itself  enough,  for  immediately,  in  the  quaint 
language  of  the  chronicler,  '  Satan  left  her,  and 
fled  away  in  the  form  of  a  young  man,  saying, 
"  Wo  to  me,  because  of  thee,  Mary,  and  thy 
Son." ' " 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF  CHRIST.  53 


This  time  the  mirth  of  the  girls  was  much  ex- 
cited, so  that  it  was  difficult  to  suppress  it. 

"  Let  us  not  laugh,"  Uncle  Midas  said.     "  The 
writer   was    serious.     He    intended   as    best    he 
could  to  honor  our  Lord.     The  stories  may  be 
absurd,  yet  the  faith  they  show  is  beautiful.     Our 
next  is  dashed  with  poetry.     The  morning  after 
the  miracle,   for   which,  as   we   have   seen,   the 
simple  pity  of  the  Lady  St.  Mary  was  so  effec- 
tive, the  Holy  Family  took  the  road  again.    Any 
of  the  pictures  of  the  old  masters  classified  as 
reposes   will    tell    us    how    they  journeyed — the 
Lady  St.  Mary  on  a  donkey,  with  the  child  in 
her  lap,  while  Joseph,  cane  in  hand,  toiled  sol- 
emnly on  afoot,  punching  the  beast  now  and  then 
lest  it  should  go  to  sleep  and  stumble.     In  the 
evening  they  cauie  to  another  town,  where  they 
found   a   strange    state   of  affairs.      The    people 
were  going  about  with  every  sign  of  sorrowful 
excitement.      A  couipany   had    met   at  a  house 
to  celebrate  a  marriage;  but,  alas!     And  Satan 
came   also,  and  with  him  a  band   of   sorcerers, 
who  so  wrought  that  in   the  part   of  the   cere- 
mony where  the  bride  is  required  to  say  some 


54  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

thing — possibly  'Tes'— she  could  not.  She  was 
struck  dumb.  The  chronicler  says  she  could 
not  even  open  her  mouth." 

As  this  point  offered  a  chance  for  witticisms 
on  the  side  of  the  young  men  of  Uncle  Midas's 
party,  they  cast  looks  at  each  other  without  in- 
terrupting the  story. 

"The  poor  dumb  bride,"  Uncle  Midas  contin- 
ued, "  chanced  to  be  where  she  could  see  the  Lady 
St.  Mary  riding  into  the  town,  with  the  dear  Lord 
Christ  in  her  lap.  She  ran  with  out-stretched 
hands  and  caught  the  baby  to  her  breast,  and 
fondled  and  caressed  it  as  only  women  can,  but 
not  nuitely,  as  you  would  suppose ;  for  on  the 
instant  the  tie  of  her  tongue  was  broken,  and 
she  sang  praises  unto  him  who  had  restored  her. 
And  there  was  joy  to  the  bridegroom,  joy  to 
the  family,  joy  to  all  the  town  that  night.  The 
entertainment  of  the  travellers  was  so  gener- 
ous and  splendid  that  they  abode  there  several 
days. 

"Then  they  pursued  on  from  city  to  city,  cast- 
ing out  Satans  as  they  went,  and  healing  lepers, 
and  the   sick   and   miserable,  and  always  doing 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  55 


good.  All  very  pleasant,  except  that  at  times, 
as  if  it  were  not  possible  to  conceal  the  earthi- 
ness  of  his  ideas,  the  author  permits  Joseph  to 
go  away  handsomely  rewarded  with  gifts." 

"But  they  had  to  live,"  suggested  one  of  the 
young  men. 

"Yes,  that  is  the  practical  view,"  said  Uncle 
Midas,  with  slight  impatience.  "  But  if  you  will 
excuse  me,  another  of  the  stories  comes  to  mind 
that  should  be  given,  since  it  shows  the  old 
writer  at  his  best.  Indeed,  for  characterization 
and  dramatic  movement  it  would  serve  our  ra- 
conteurs of  short  tales  as  a  model  of  their  art. 
To  do  the  old  writer  justice,  you  shall  have  it  in 
his  own  words." 

Thereupon  the  old  gentleman  arose,  and  going 
to  a  shelf,  took  out  a  book  and  returned  with  it. 

"  Turn  on  the  light  there,"  he  ordered  from  his 
seat;  and  when  that  was  done  to  his  satisfaction, 
"I  will  read  now,"  he  said;  "only  observe  how 
much  the  style  and  language  resemble  the  match- 
less simplicity  of  the  '  Pilgrim's  Progress.' "  And 
then  he  began : 

" '  But  going  forward  on  the  morrow,  they  came 


56  THE  BOYHOOD    OF  CHRIST. 

to  another  city,  and  saw  three  women  going  from 
a  certain  grave  with  great  weeping.  When  St. 
Mary  saw  them  she  spake  to  the  girl  who  was 
their  companion,  saying,  "  Go  and  inquire  of  them 
what  is  the  matter  with  them,  and  what  misfort- 
une has  befallen  them,"  When  the  girl  asked 
them  they  made  her  no  answer,  but  asked  her 
again,  "  Who  are  ye  ?  and  Avhere  are  ye  going  ? 
For  the  day  is  far  spent,  and  night  is  at  hand." 
"  We  are  travellers,"  saith  the  girl,  "  and  are  seek- 
ing for  an  inn  to  lodge  at."  They  replied,  "Go 
along  with  us,  and  lodge  with  us."  They  then 
followed  them,  and  were  introduced  into  a  new 
house,  well  furnished  with  all  sorts  of  new  fur- 
niture. 

"'It  was  now  winter -time,  and  the  girl  went 
into  the  parlor  where  these  women  were,  and 
found  them  weeping  and  lamenting  as  before. 
By  them  stood  a  mule,  which  they  kissed  and 
were  feeding ;  it  was  covered  over  with  silk,  and 
had  an  ebony  collar  hanging  down  from  its  neck. 
But  when  the  girl  said,  "How  handsome,  ladies, 
that  mule  is !"  they  replied  with  tears,  and  said, 
"  This  mule  which  you  see  was  our  brother — "  '  " 


"'THEY   WATCHED  HIM  WITH  JEALOUS   CARE.'" 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  59 

"Oh!"  cried  Nan. 

"  '  "  —  our  brother,  born  of  the  same  mother 
as  we.  For  when  our  father  died,  and  left  us  a 
very  large  estate,  and  we  had  only  this  brother, 
and  we  endeavored  to  procure  him  a  suitable 
match,  and  thought  he  should  be  married  as  other 
men,  some  giddy  and  jealous  women  bewitched 
him  without  our  knowledge  ;  and  we  one  night, 
a  little  before  day,  while  the  doors  of  the  house 
were  all  fast  shut,  saw  this  our  brother  was 
changed  into  a  mule,  such  as  you  now  see  him 
to  be;  and  we,  in  the  melancholy  condition  in 
which  you  see  us,  having  no  father  to  comfort 
us,  have  applied  to  all  the  wise  men,  magicians, 
and  diviners  in  the  world,  but  they  have  been 
of  no  service  to  us.  As  often,  therefore,  as  we 
find  ourselves  oppressed  with  grief,  we  rise  and 
go  with  this  our  brother  to  our  father's  tomb, 
where,  when  we  have  cried  sufficiently,  we  return 
home." 

'"When  the  girl  had  heard  this,  she  said,  "Take 
courage,  and  cease  your  fears,  for  you  have  a 
remedy  for  your  afflictions  near  at  hand,  even 
among  you,  and  in  the'midst  of  your  house;  for 


60  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

I  was  also  leprous;  but  when  I  saw  this  wom- 
an, and  this  little  infant  with  her,  whose  name 
is  Jesus,  I  sprinkled  my  body  with  the  water 
with  which  his  mother  had  washed  him,  and  I 
was  presently  made  well.  And  I  am  certain 
that  he  is  also  capable  of  relieving  you  under 
your  distress.  Wherefore  arise,  go  to  my  mis- 
tress Mary,  and  when  you  have  brought  her  into 
your  parlor,  disclose  to  her  the  secret,  at  the 
same  time  earnestly  beseeching  her  to  compas- 
sionate your  case." 

"'As  soon  as  the  women  had  heard  the  girl's 
discourse  they  hastened  away  to  the  Lady  St. 
Mary,  introduced  themselves  to  her,  and  sitting 
down  before  her,  they  wept,  and  said,  "  0  our 
Lady  St.  Mary,  pity  your  handmaids,  for  we  have 
no  head  of  our  family,  no  one  older  than  us;  no 
father  or  brother  to  go  in  and  out  before  us ; 
but  this  mule  which  you  see  was  our  brother, 
which  some  women  by  witchcraft  have  brought 
into  this  condition  which  you  see.  We  therefore 
entreat  you  to  compassionate  us." 

"  '  Hereupon  St.  Mary  was  grieved  at  their  case, 
and  taking  the  Lord  Jesus,  put  him   upon   the 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  61 

back  of  the  mule,  and  said  to  her  son,  "  0  Jesus 
Christ,  restore  according  to  thy  extraordinary 
power  this  mule,  and  grant  him  to  have  again 
the  shape  of  a  man  and  a  rational  creature,  as 
he  had  formerly."  This  was  scarce  said  by  the 
Lady  St.  Mary  but  the  nuile  immediately  passed 
into  a  human  form,  and  became  a  young  man 
without  any  deformity.  Then  he  and  his  mother 
and  the  sisters  worshipped  the  Lady  St.  Mary, 
and  lifting  the  child  upon  their  heads,  they 
kissed  him,  and  said,  "Blessed  is  thy  mother,  0 
Jesus,  0  Saviour  of  the  world !  Blessed  are  the 
eyes  which  are  so  happy  as  to  see  thee !"  Then 
both  the  sisters  told  their  mother,  saying,  "  Of  a 
truth  our  brother  is  restored  to  his  former  shape 
by  the  help  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
kindness  of  that  girl  who  told  us  of  Mary  and 
her  son  "  '  " 

Here  Uncle  Midas,  who  had  been  acquitting 
himself  as  a  reader  very  handsomely  indeed, 
drew  the  lids  of  the  book  together,  though  mark- 
ing the  place  with  the  first  finger  between  the 
pages,  and  asked,  with  a  sly  look,  "  That  sounds 
like  the  end,  don't  it?" 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 


"Stories  nowadays  end  Avith  weddings,"  some 
one  suggested. 

"And  so  they  did  in  the  beginning.  So  does 
this  one.  There  were  critics  abroad  the  day  it 
was  written,  seventeen  hundred  years  ago,  and  a 
public  to  please,  and  doubtless  the  author  stood 
in  awe  of  them  as  authors  now  do,  else  the  fol- 
lowing is  a  base  interpolation.     Listen ! — 

" '  And  inasmuch  as  our  brother  is  unmarried, 
it  is  fit  that  we  marry  him  to  this  girl,  their 
servant.  When  they  had  consulted  St.  Mary  in 
the  matter,  and  she  had  given  her  consent,  they 
made  a  splendid  wedding  for  the  girl.' " 

There  was  clapping  of  hands  at  that,  and 
laughter;  and  the  interruption  did  not  in  the 
least  disconcert  Uncle  Midas,  who  calmly  pi-o- 
ceeded  with  his  reading. 

"  'And  so  their  sorrow  being  turned  into  glad- 
ness, and  their  mourning  into  mirth,  they  be- 
gan to  rejoice,  and  make  merry,  and  sing,  being 

dressed  in  their  richest  attire,  with  bracelets 

After  this  Joseph  and  Mary  tarried  there  ten 
days,  then  went  away,  having  received  great  re- 


THE  STORY  CAME   FIRST  FROM   HER.' 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  65 

spect  from  those  people,  who,  wlien  they  took 
their  leave  of  them  and  returned  home,  cried,  but 
especially  the  girl.' " 

Then,  when  the  humor  of  his  party  was  spent, 
Uncle  Midas  said,  "I  fear  I  am  keeping  you  too 
long.     The  fiddlers  are  waiting." 

"  No,  no !  Go  on !"  the  party  answered,  unani- 
mously. 

"  Very  well,  we  will  at  least  dispose  of  the  old 
story  -  teller,  and  shortly ;  for  in  truth  his  tales 
soon  begin  to  show  a  failure  of  ingenuity,  and  he 
suffers  them  to  drop  into  a  dismal  monotony  of 
circumstance.  That  of  Titus  and  Dumachus  is 
the  only  one  succeeding  those  I  have  given  that 
is  marked  with  the  slightest  cunning.  The  Holy 
Family  is  again  led  by  Joseph  amongst  thieves, 
but  this  time  they  are  all  asleep.  At  the  last 
moment  two  of  them  wake  up  ;  an  altercation 
ensues  between  them.  One  proves  to  be  kindly 
disposed,  and  he  insists  that  Joseph  be  allowed 
to  pass.  Titus  is  his  name,  and  he  finally  pre- 
vails, but  not  until  he  has  given  the  other,  Du- 
machus, his  girdle.  Then  the  Lord  is  made  to 
come  distinctly  forward  as  a  prophet.     He  tells 


fi6  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

the  Lady  St.  Mary  that  in  thirty  years  he  will 
be  crucified,  with  Titus  on  his  right  hand  and 
Duraachus  on  his  left,  and  that  the  former  shall 
go  before  him  into  Paradise. 

"After  this  second  escape  from  highwaymen 
the  travellers  go  on  to  a  city  of  several  idols, 
which  are  appropriately  turned  into  hills  of  sand. 

"They  then  come  to  Matarea,  a  place  of  but 
little  importance  at  that  time,  since  it  is  de- 
scribed as  a  sycamore-tree — the  same,  probably, 
that  is  made  to  appear  in  so  many  rejjoses.  From 
Matarea  the  wanderers  at  last  reach  Memphis, 
where  they  see  Pharaoh,  and  abide  three  years, 
performing  many  miracles.  At  the  close  of  that 
period  they  return  to  Judea ;  with  which,  as  the 
old  chronicler  sees  them,  the  Infancy  closes  and 
the  Bovhood  begins. 

"Thereupon  a  new  line  of  incidents  is  dis- 
closed to  us.  The  Lady  St.  Mary  disappears 
as  a  show -woman.  Our  Lord  himself  becomes 
chief  actor,  and  the  performances  are  nearly  all 
located  in  and  about  Nazareth.  A  close  study 
of  the  book  from  this  point  leads  to  a  suspicion 
that  a  new  liand   has   been   put   to   the   work. 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 


Our   Saviour  is  presented  to   us   not  merely  as 
a   boy,  but — if  the  apparent  irreverence  of  the 
remark  can  be  excused — as  a  very  bad  boy.     The 
Divine   Power   still   attends   him,  and  he   trifles 
with    it.      He    gets    angry   with    his    playmates, 
and  does  them   serious   mischief,  insomuch  that 
their  parents    complain    of  him.     He   terrorizes 
the  town.     At  seven  years  of  age  he  is  reputed 
a   sorcerer.     One   day,  with   other  lads,  he  was 
making  birds  and  animals  of  clay,  and  to  excel 
them  he  said  boastfully  that  his  figures  should 
walk  and  fly,  and  they  did  all  he  ordered  them. 
Of  like  kind,  only  more  malicious,  was  his  deal- 
ing with    the   dyer.      Finding    parcels    of   cloth 
in    the    poor   man's    shop,  left   to    be   variously 
cobred,  he  threw  them  all  into  one  kettle.     The 
shopkeeper    set    up    a   great   cry.     To    appease 
him  our   Lord  asked  what  colors  they  were  to 
have  been,  and  being  told,  he   took  the  pieces 
out  each   of   the  desired  color.     There   is  little 
wonder   that   the   dyers    of  Persia    elected   him 
their   patron.     Going,  as    it  were,  from   bad   to 
worse,    another   of  the    absurd   tales    is    of  his 
turning  his  playmates   into  kids.     Malice  unre- 


68  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

lieved  distinguishes  the  legend  of  his  striking 
the  son  of  Hanani  dead  for  wasting  the  water 
he  had  collected  into  a  miniature  fish-pond.  In 
yet  another  we  are  gravely  told  that,  as  he  was 
returning  home  with  Joseph,  a  boy  ran  against 
him  so  hard  as  to  throw  him  down.  Then  our 
Lord,  in  great  wrath,  arose  and  cried  out,  '  Thou 
too  shalt  fall,  and  never  rise.'  That  moment  the 
boy  fell  down  dead." 

"  That  is  awful !"  exclaimed  John. 

"Worse  than  awful,"  Uncle  Midas  rejoined, 
warmly.  "Now  and  then,  however,  the  wicked- 
ness is  varied  by  something  solennily  ludicrous. 
Take,  for  example,  the  statement  that  Joseph 
was  in  the  habit  of  carrying  the  Son  of  Mary 
along  with  him  Avhen  l)e  went  about  the  coun- 
try mending  gates,  milk-pails,  sieves,  and  boxes ; 
for  having  spoiled  the  job,  as  he  was  almost 
certain  to  do,  the  lad  was  needed  to  set  it  to 
rights.  Or,  in  the  quaintness  of  the  original, 
*as  often  as  Joseph  had  anything  in  his  work 
to  make  longer  or  shorter,  or  wider  or  narrower, 
the  Lord  Jesus  would  stretch  his  hand  towards 
it,  and  presently  it  became  as  Joseph  would  have 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF  CHRIST.  69 

it.'  A  story  of  such  delicious  simplicity  is  added, 
in  illustration,  that  it  would  be  inexcusable  to 
omit  the  telling  in  the  chronicler's  own  words. 
Premising  that  Joseph  '  was  not  very  skilful  at 
his  carpenter's  trade,'  he  says: 

"  '  On  a  certain  time  the  King  of  Jerusalem 
sent  for  him,  and  said,  "  I  would  have  thee  make 
me  a  throne  of  the  same  dimensions  with  that 
place  in  which  I  commonly  sit."  Joseph  obeyed, 
and  forthwith  began  the  work,  and  continued 
two  years  in  the  King's  palace  before  he  finished 
it.  And  when  he  came  to  fix  it  in  its  place,  he 
found  it  wanting  two  spans  on  each  side  of  the 
appointed  measure ;  which,  when  the  King  saw, 
he  was  very  angry  with  Joseph.  And  Joseph, 
afraid  of  the  King's  anger,  went  to  bed  without 
his  supper,  taking  not  anything  to  eat.  Then 
the  Lord  Jesus  asked  him  what  he  was  afraid  of. 
Joseph  replied,  "  Because  I  have  lost  my  labor 
in  the  work  which  I  have  been  about  these  two 
years."  Jesus  said  to  him,  "  Fear  not,  neither  be 
cast  down ;  do  thou  lay  hold  on  one  side,  and  I 
Avill  the  other,  and  we  will  bring  it  to  its  just 
dimensions."     And  when   Joseph  had  done  as 


70  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

the  Lord  Jesus  said,  and  each  of  them  had  with 
strength  drawn  his  side,  the  throne  obeyed  and 
was  brought  to  the  proper  dimensions  of  the 
place.  Which  miracle,  when  they  who  stood  by 
saw,  they  w^ere  astonished  and  praised  God.  The 
throne  was  made  of  the  same  wood  which  was  in 
being  in  Solomon's  time,  namely,  wood  adorned 
with  various  shapes  and  figures.'  " 

The  reading  finished.  Uncle  Midas  closed  the 
volume,  saying,  emphatically,  "  Enough  !  The 
book  has  place  on  my  shelf  along  with  other 
religious  literary  curiosities,  such  as  the  Koran 
and  the  Mormon  Bible.  I  do  not  read  any  of 
them  now.  They  are  only  useful  as  instruments 
for  the  measurement  of  the  capacity  of  faith. 
They  teach  me  what  all  men  religiously  disposed 
can  be  made  believe.  And  now  I  will  go  back 
to  the  point  from  which  you  started  me.  Do 
you  remember  it,  any  of  you  ?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Nan ;  "  you  were  speaking  of  the 
scarcity  of  reliable  incidents  of  the  Saviour's 
childhood." 

"  Quite  right,  dear ;  and  I  have  only  to  say 
further  that,  as   an   argument,  the   circumstance 


MARY  TEACHING  JESUS  THE  ALPHABET. 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF  CHRIST.  73 


seems  at  first  glance  to  justify  the  opinion  com- 
monly held  by  thinkers,  that  the  youth  of  our 
Lord  ran  on  in  course  very  much  like  that  of 
the  generality  of  poor  Jewish  children." 

"I  can't  believe  that,  uncle,"  said  Puss,  with  a 
show  of  indignation. 

The  old  gentleman  looked  at  her  benignantly. 

"  Nor  can  I,"  he  said.  "  They  say  that  Joseph, 
to  whom  as  a  child  our  Lord  was  subject,  was  a 
carpenter  who  plied  only  the  humbler  branches 
of  the  trade,  and  that  Mary,  his  wife,  spun  the 
flax  and  wool  for  the  family,  and  was  a  house- 
wife. These  are  the  circumstances  chiefly  relied 
upon  to  support  the  theory  that  the  condition  of 
the  cMld  was  poverty.  Now  while  I  admit  the 
circumstances,  I  deny  the  conclusion.  That  Jo- 
seph was  a  carpenter  signifies  nothing,  as  the 
law  required  every  Israelite,  rich  or  poor,  to  fol- 
low some  occupation.  Then  was  it  not  written 
of  the  exemplar  of  all  the  mothers  in  Israel, 
'She  looketh  well  to  the  ways  of  her  household, 
and  eateth  not  the  bread  of  idleness  ?'  And  if 
we  may  give  heed  to  accounts  not  purely  Script- 
ural, Mary  owned  the  house  in  Nazareth  in  which 


74  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

the  family  dwelt ;  but  conforming  to  the  Script- 
ures, it  is  to  be  remembered  that  amongst  the 
gifts  of  the  Magi  there  was  gold.  And  I  please 
myself  thinking  that  there  was  enough  of  it  to 
support  the  holy  family  while  it  was  in  Egypt, 
and  afterwards  in  Nazareth.  In  my  view,  then, 
the  child  was  not  born  to  poverty.  If  any  one 
doubts  the  conclusion,  let  him  ponder  the  awful 
declaration  in  the  Talmud  :  '  These  four  are  ac- 
counted as  dead  :  the  blind,  the  leper,  the  2^oor, 
and  the  childless.'  As  to  the  social  position  of 
the  family,  it  is  enough  to  remark  that,  besides 
being  a  just  man,  Joseph  was  a  lineal  descend- 
ant of  David  the  King." 

"They  were  neither  rich  nor  poor,  then,"  said 
John. 

"  Only  comfortable,"  Uncle  Midas  rejoined  ;  then 
proceeded:  "Exactly  the  condition  to  allow  our 
Saviour  a  marginal  time  in  which  to  taste  some- 
thing of  natural  boyish  freedom  ;  to  have  little 
playmates,  run  races  with  the  youngest  of  the 
flocks,  deck  himself  from  the  anemone -beds  on 
the  hills,  and  watch  the  clouds  form  slowly  about 
the  summit  of  old  Hermon.     It  must  be  noted, 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  75 


however,  that  this  period  was  shorter  with  him 
than   with    our    lads,  for   the    terrible    Taliiiudic 
rules  fell  upon  hiui  early,  after  which  there  was 
small  chance  to  enjoy  boyhood  according  to  our 
ideas  of  its  enjoyment.     By  overwhelming  men, 
women,  and  children  with  duties,  they  put  exist- 
ence  in  iron  jackets.     To   neglect  the   rules,  or 
the  least  of  them,  was  to  invoke  perdition.     And 
besides—"     Uncle  Midas  drew  his  gray  cap  well 
down,  and  meditated  a  moment.     "  I  was  about 
to  say,"  he  then  continued,  "  that  there  was  an- 
other  cause   to   cut   short   the   jocund   marginal 
period   of  our    Lord,  which  must   not   be    over- 
looked— a  cause  peculiar  to  himself,  and,  in  my 
judgment,  more   influential    even   than   the   Tal- 
mudic  rules.     His  precocity  was  miraculous.     At 
a  time  when  other  children  are  muling  in  their 
mothers'  arms,  the  cells  of  his  understanding  be- 
gan  to   enlarge   and   fill   with   knowledge.     The 
process  must  have  been  like  the  gradual  rise  of 
water  in  the  basin  of  a  spring ;   at  all  events, 
the  knowledge  was  of  a  kind  to  make  him  pre- 
ternaturally  serious,  and  it  was  not  derived  from 
books  or  school-masters." 


76  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

"  You  think  the  angels  waited  upon  him  ?" 
interposed  Nan. 

The  question  was  asked  with  such  artlessness 
that  Uncle  Midas,  who  had  been  talking  with 
self-concentration,  looked  at  her  half  startled. 

"  I  did  not  think  of  being  called  upon  to  make 
the  admission,  my  little  friend,"  he  said ;  "  but  I 
will — only  do  not  take  me  to  be  a  modern  spir- 
itualist. You  may  have  seen  copies  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  the  Virgin  Mothers.  Murillo  did  but 
work  according  to  his  faith  when  he  filled  the 
space  about  the  central  tigure  with  faces  of  at- 
tending spirits.  At  the  feet  of  the  Sistine  Ma- 
donna, beyond  peradventure  the  most  divinely 
perfect  Mother  and  Child  in  group,  there  are  two 
little  cherubs  inimitably  suggestive  of  mischiev- 
ous urchins  ;  but  examine  them  closely  next  time, 
and  see  what  knowledge  is  conveyed  in  the  ex- 
pression of  their  countenances.  Raphael  painted 
them  con  amove,  meaning  that  he  believed  in 
them — and  so  do  I.  I  do  not  think  such  minis- 
ters go  with  us  common  mortals.  Goodness  help 
them  if  they  do !  That  they  went  with  the  divine 
Child,  however,  I   am   quick   to   believe.     They 


/ 


"'LISTENING   FOR   VOICES.'" 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  79 

watched  him  with  jealous  care ;  they  floated  on 
the  clouds  above  him ;  they  trod  the  air  in  his 
chamber;  they  gave  color,  direction,  purity,  and 
strength  to  his  thought.  His  mother  may  have 
taught  him  the  alphabet,  but  neither  she  nor  the 
teachers  in  the  synagogue  could  have  helped  him 
to  that  other  rarer  and  higher  learning  in  the 
light  of  which  the  hearts  of  those  about  him  were 
as  primers  for  easy  reading.  Through  what  hu- 
man agency  was  it  that  before  he  was  a  man  he 
was  master  of  a  lore  which  Hillel  had  not  been 
able  to  obtain  with  all  his  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years  of  studious  life?" 

Uncle  Midas  concluded  this  speech  with  some- 
thing like  declamation ;  unconsciously  he  had 
become  excited,  and  it  was  not  a  little  to  his 
relief  that  other  young  people  broke  into  the 
study,  and  with  whispers  and  smothered  laughter 
closed  around  the  lire. 

"  Hush !"  said  John,  severely.  "  Uncle  Midas 
is  talking." 

But  Uncle  Midas  spoke  more  kindly :  "  I  fear 
the  fiddlers  will  complain  of  me." 

"Not  just  now,"  replied  a  girl  as  she  rested 


80  THE  BOYHOOD    OF  CHRIST. 

her  arms  on  the  back  of  his  chair.  "They  are 
at  the  cold  chicken  and  mulled  cider  on  the 
sideboard." 

"  Never  mind  them,  uncle,"  passed  round  in 
encouraging  chorus. 

As  such  was  the  general  voice,  he  said  :  "  Very 
well — only  I  am  sorry  the  new-comers  will  have 
to  guess  what  has  preceded  by  the  fragment  that 
follows.  My  subject  is  the  boyhood  of  Christ.  I 
was  saying  I  did  not  think  he  had  much  time  to 
enjoy  his,  and  will  now  add  another  argument  in 
support  of  the  opinion.  Suppose  by  any  chance 
he  came  while  a  child  to  know  the  mysteries  of 
his  birth.  The  effects  would  have  been  manifold, 
but  of  one  of  them  I  am  certain  —  all  desire  for 
pastime  by  childish  means  would  have  then 
ended." 

"  Then  you  believe  he  knew  it  all  ?"  asked 
Puss,  impulsively — "  knew  it  all  when  he  was  a 
child  ?" 

"Well,"  he  answered,  "let  us  see.  He  was 
from  the  beginning  in  care  of  at  least  two  per- 
sons who  could  not  have  put  their  knowledge  of 
him  away  had  they  wished  to  do  so.     The  world 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF  CHRIST.  81 

has  done  injustice  to  Joseph.  The  fathers  of  the 
Church  did  better  when  they  canonized  him. 
He  held  a  prodigious  secret  in  his  possession, 
and  was  true  to  it.  'Who  is  this?'  the  rabbis 
asked,  when  Christ  began  his  miracles ;  and  they 
answered  themselves,  '  Oh,  it  is  the  carpenter's 
son !'  The  other  person  was  Mary,  the  mother. 
After  all  that  has  been  said  and  written  of  her 
appearance,  her  devotion,  her  sanctity — her  wom- 
anliness makes  her  as  incomparable  amongst 
women  as  her  son  is  incomparable  amongst  men. 
I  am  somewhat  rigid  in  my  idea  that  worship  is 
due  to  God  alone ;  nevertheless,  it  would  have 
been  hard  for  me  to  refuse  to  fall  in  and  march 
with  Cyril  in  his  great  dispute  with  Nestorius, 
and  I  am  sensible  of  a  kindly  feeling  for  Pope 
Gregory  the  Great,  because  he  at  length  settled 
the  dispute  by  making  it  lawful  to  write  'Holy 
Mother  of  God '  after  Mary's  name.  Neither  have 
I  any  disposition  to  quarrel  with  the  devotional 
habit  the  peasants  have  of  stopping  to  kneel 
before  the  Mother  as  she  appears  above  the  rural 
altars  on  the  way-sides  of  Italy.  On  the  quay  of 
the  Bosporus  as  one  approaches  Therapia  there 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 


is  an  arched  vault  of  an  ancient  ruin  in  which 
a  poor  hunch  -  backed  Greek  keeps  a  candle  al- 
ways burning  before  a  wretched  picture  of  the 
Virgin.  In  front  of  that  humble  church  I  habit- 
ually stopped  my  caique,  and  going  in,  dropped 
a  piastre  in  the  alms-box,  and  crossed  myself. 
The  deformed  keeper  kept  his  light,  such  as  it 
was,  burning  in  the  world ;  my  money  helped 
give  him  bread  and  maintain  his  light;  the  sign 
was  reverence  to  her  who  is  to  be  the  pattern  of 
mothers  while  the  earth  endures ;  and  such  wor- 
ship as  there  was  in  my  salutation  and  gift  went 
up  to  God  with  as  much  acceptance,  in  my  be- 
lief, as  if  it  had  been  rendered  with  organ  accom- 
paniments amidst  the  splendors  of  St.  Peter's." 

There  was  a  decided  movement  amongst  the 
audience  at  these  words.  Uncle  Midas  was  al- 
lowing himself  to  be  carried  away  again.  The 
rustle,  however,  brought  him  back  to  his  sub- 
ject. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  said,  with  charming 
candor.  "  If  I  have  wandered  a  little,  charge  the 
fault  to  my  great  love  of  good  Avomen.  The  two, 
Joseph   and  Mary,  I  was   saying,  possessed  the 


THE  BOY  JESUS   IN  THE   TEMPLE. 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  85 

secret  of  our  Lord's  origin.  When  I  consider 
their  relationship  to  him,  it  becomes  impossible 
for  me  to  think  they  did  not  tell  him  all  they 
knew  about  him.  I  prefer  to  believe  the  story 
came  first  from  her.  She  knew  it  best;  she 
loved  him  most;  and  as  to  the  time  the  tale 
was  told,  exactness  is  of  no  importance.  The 
hour,  we  may  be  sure,  was  auspicious;  she  held 
him  clasped  in  her  arms ;  his  head  lay  upon  her 
breast;  from  that  soft  pure  pillow  he  looked  up 
into  her  eyes ;  and  then  she  remembered  that  he 
was  the  Messiah,  and  she  the  most  blessed  of 
women,  and  from  that  moment  he  was  lost  to 
all  the  claims  of  boyhood.  In  the  good  old  lan- 
guage so  nearly  descriptive  of  the  indescribable, 
'The  grace  of  God  was  upon  him.'  " 

"Well,  if  he  did  not  play  as  other  children, 
he  at  least  went  to  school?"  one  of  the  auditors 
said ;  and  Uncle  Midas  hastened  to  reply : 

"If  Nazareth  had  a  school  —  and  the  better 
opinion  is  that  the  village  was  not  so  favored — 
it  is  to  be  kept  in  mind  that  scholars  could  not 
be  admitted  before  the  age  of  six,  and  that  all 
instruction  was  limited  to  the  Law,  and  entirely 


86  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

oral.  The  master  sat  on  a  raised  seat ;  the  chil- 
dren, on  the  floor,  simpty  repeated  what  he  re- 
cited to  them  until  they  knew  the  lesson  by 
heart.  After  six  years — certainly  after  he  came 
to  know  himself — om-  Lord  was  taught,  I  think, 
by  his  mother.  She  may  have  initiated  him 
in  the  alphabet  earlier ;  anyhow  I  delight  in  im- 
agining the  two  at  Avork.  The  torah  is  spread 
upon  her  knee ;  he  has  a  hand  over  her  shoul- 
der, she  an  arm  about  his  waist;  he  is  quick 
to  apprehend ;  their  voices  are  low  and  sweet ; 
at  times  they  turn  to  each  other,  and  it  is  the 
old  story — 

'  Soft  eyes  looked  love  to  eyes  that  spake  again.' " 

Uncle  Midas's  voice  was  a  little  tremulous, 
but  he  went  on  in  the  same  strain : 

"After  the  lad  came  to  know  himself,  the 
knowledge  enforced  solemnity  and  serious  thought. 
The  old  master  who  painted  him  trudging  after 
Joseph  with  a  basket  of  tools  had  the  true  con- 
ception of  him  about  this  time,  for  he  was  hum- 
ble and  uncomplaining,  and  delighted  in  service. 
Of  out -door   employments,  I  am   sure  he  most 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  87 

loved  that  of  the  shepherd.  In  following  the 
capricious  flocks,  as  they  wandered  over  the 
broad  Esdraelon,  he  could  freely  indulge  the  ex- 
pectancy of  revelation  that  must  have  been  his 
constant  condition  of  mind.  I  have  had  visions 
of  him  out  in  the  historic  plain,  sunburned,  large- 
eyed,  oval-faced,  leaning  upon  a  crook,  a  dog  by 
his  side.  What  time  he  is  not  observant  of  his 
charge,  he  is  listening  for  voices,  attentive  to 
each  passing  wind,  or  gazing  at  the  clouds  for 
seraphic  messengers,  or  giving  heed  to  the  emo- 
tions of  his  own  being  in  the  hope  of  their  be- 
coming telltales  of  all  he  so  wished.  How  ten- 
derly he  would  carry  the  weaklings  of  the  herd 
down  the  steeps  and  over  the  stony  places!  He 
loved  them,  and  they  loved  him.     But — " 

And  Uncle  Midas  rested  upon  the  word,  and 
thereupon  the  violins  off  in  the  parlor  seemed 
suddenly  to  find  their  liveliest  notes.  A  peal 
of  Strauss's  dance  music  penetrated  the  study, 
though  without  effect;  even  the  waltzers  of  the 
party  remained  patiently  around  the  old  gentle- 
man's chair.  One  little  miss  whispered,  "We're 
all  here  but  the  fiddlers." 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF    CHRIST. 


"And  they'll  be  along  presently,"  another  one 
replied. 

"I  was  about  to  do  what  the  lovers  of  our 
Lord  have  so  often  done,"  Uncle  Midas  at  length 
said,  confidently,  as  if  he  had  overtaken  the  idea 
that  was  trying  to  escape  him  in  the  fire  —  "I 
was  about  to  grumble  again  at  the  meagreness 
of  the  record ;  but  let  us  do  better — let  us  take 
up  and  eke  out  all  we  can  of  what  there  is. 
One  of  you  get  the  Testament  there  on  the  table, 
and  read  from  Luke  ii.,  beginning  with  the  39th 


verse." 


Presently  the  reading  began. 

"Observe,"  said  Uncle  Midas,  after  the  43d 
verse,  "he  is  spoken  of  as  the  cJiild  Jesus. 
Jump  now  to  46  and  47." 

The  reader  was  attentive. 

"'!2lni)  it  came  to  pass,  tijat  after  tijree  Dans  tl)cj) 
fouuli  l)im  in  tlje  temple,  sitting  in  tl)c  mibst  of  tlje 
lioctors,  boti)  Ijearing  tljem,  ani)  asking  tijem  questions, 
^nb  all  tljat  Ijearb  ijim  votxt  astonisljci)  at  i)is  unbcr- 
stanbing  anb  ansroers.'  " 

"Rest  there,"  said  Uncle  Midas,  somewhat  in 
the  style   of  a  captain  giving  an  order  — "  rest 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  89 


there,  and  let  us  weigh  what  we  have,  lighten- 
ing it  with  outside  facts,  and  now  and  then  with 
permissible  touches  of  fancy.  The  herdsmen  of 
Nazareth  were  ignorant  and  poor;  still  they 
complied  with  the  Law,  and  at  least  once  every 
year  went  up  to  Jerusalem  after  the  custom  of 
the  feast.  In  the  procession  on  one  such  occa- 
sion there  was  a  family  the  head  of  which  was 
a  plain,  serious  -  looking,  middle  -  aged  man,  with 
whom  the  world  has  since  become  acquainted  as 
Joseph.  His  wife,  Mary,  was  then  about  twenty- 
seven  years  of  age,  gentle,  modest,  sweet-spoken, 
of  fair  complexion,  with  eyes  of  violet  -  blue,  and 
hair  half  brown,  half  gold.  She  rode  a  donkey. 
James,  Joses,  Simon,  and  Jude,  full  -  grown  sons 
of  Joseph,  walked  with  their  father.  A  child  of 
Mary,  twelve  years  old,  walked  near  her.  It  is 
not  at  all  likely  that  the  group  attracted  special 
attention  from  their  fellow-travellers.  '  The  peace 
of  the  Lord  be  with  you !'  they  would  say  in  sa- 
lute, and  have  return  in  kind.  More  than  eigh- 
teen hundred  years  have  passed  since  that  ob- 
scure family  made  that  pious  pilgrimage.  Could 
they  come  back  and  make  it  now,  the  singing. 


90  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

shouting,  and  worship  that  would  go  with  them 
would  be  without  end ;  not  Solomon  in  all  his 
glory,  nor  Cjesar,  nor  any  or  all  of  the  modern 
kings,  would  have  such  attendance.  Let  us  sin- 
gle out  the  boy,  that  we  may  try  and  see  him 
as  he  was — afoot  like  his  brethren,  small,  grow- 
ing, and  therefore  slender.  His  attire  was  sim- 
ple :  on  his  head  a  Avhite  handkerchief,  held  in 
place  by  a  cord,  one  corner  turned  under  at  the 
forehead,  the  other  corners  loose.  A  tunic,  also 
white,  covered  him  from  neck  to  knees,  girt  at 
the  waist.  His  arms  and  legs  were  bare ;  on 
his  feet  were  sandals  of  the  most  primitive  kind, 
being  soles  of  ox-hide  attached  to  the  ankles  by 
leathern  straps.  He  carried  a  stick  that  was 
much  taller  than  himself.  The  old  painters, 
called  upon  to  render  this  childish  figure  on  can- 
vas, would  have  insisted  upon  distinguishing  it 
with  a  nimbus  at  least ;  some  of  them  would 
have  filled  the  air  over  its  head  with  cherubs ; 
some  would  have  had  the  tunic  plunged  into  a 
pot  of  madder  ;  the  very  courtierly  amongst  them 
would  have  blocked  the  way  of  both  mother  and 
son  with  monks  and  cardinals.     The  boy's  face 


"'BY  THE    ROADSIDE    ON  A   ROCK.'" 


W'fii 


WiM 


.smm^L 


^  :„.,«!!5«5#rf:' 


«J«(!««'«'''''' ' 


1  I    ■  -C^" 

r  ,V 
i'  ■/ 


/ 


::^l 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  93 

comes  to  me  very  clearly.  I  imagine  him  by  the 
roadsifle  on  a  rock  which  he  has  climbed,  the 
better  to  see  the  procession  winding  picturesque- 
ly through  the  broken  country.  His  head  is 
raised  in  an  eftbrt  at  far  sight.  The  light  of  an 
intensely  brilliant  sun  is  upon  his  countenance, 
which  in  general  cast  is  oval  and  delicate.  Un- 
der the  folds  of  the  handkerchief  I  see  the  fore- 
head, covered  by  a  mass  of  projecting  sunburnt 
blond  hair,  which  the  wind  has  taken  liberties 
with  and  tossed  into  tufts.  The  eyes  are  in 
shade,  leaving  a  doubt  whether  they  are  brown, 
or  violet  like  his  mother's ;  yet  they  are  large 
and  healthfully  clear,  and  still  retain  the  paral- 
lelism of  arch  between  brow  and  upper  lid  usu- 
ally the  characteristic  of  children  and  beautiful 
women.  The  nose  is  of  regular  inward  curve, 
joined  prettily  to  a  short  upper  lip  by  nostrils 
just  full  enough  to  give  definition  to  transparent 
shadows  in  the  corners.  The  mouth  is  small, 
and  open  slightly,  so  that  through  the  scarlet 
freshness  of  its  lines  I  catch  a  glimpse  of  two 
white  teeth.  The  cheeks  are  ruddy  and  round, 
and  only  a  certain  squareness  of  chin  tells  of 


94  THE  BOYHOOD    OF  CHRIST. 

years  this  side  the  day  the  Magi  laid  their  treas- 
ures at  his  feet.  Putting  face  and  figure  togeth- 
er, and  mindful  of  the  attitude  of  interest  in  what 
is  passing  before  him,  the  lad,  as  I  see  him  on 
the  rock,  is  handsome  and  attractive.  When  the 
journey  shall  have  ended,  and  his  mother  made 
him  ready  for  the  court  of  the  temple,  he  may 
justify  a  more  worshipful  description ;  we  may 
then  see  in  him  the  promise  of  the  Saviour  of 
Men  in  the  comeliness  of  budding  youth,  his  sad 
destiny  yet  far  in  the  future." 

Uncle  Midas  sank  back  into  the  ample  arms 
of  his  chair,  tweaking  his  white  mustache  with 
nervous  fingers ;  and  thinking  to  give  him  a  rest. 
Puss  said :  "  Thank  you,  uncle.  The  figure  on  the 
rock  is  ever  so  plain  to  our  sight  —  plain  as  if 
painted.     We  will  Avait  a  little  if  you  are  tired." 

"  I  will  go  on,"  he  replied.  "  It  was  only  the 
intrusion  of  that  horrible  Crucifixion.  The  plain- 
er one  sees  the  Lord  the  more  dreadful  his  end 
appears."  The  old  gentleman  cleared  his  throat 
and  resumed  : 

" '  The  child  grew,  and  waxed  strong  in  spirit, 
filled  with  wisdom,'  is  the  language  of  the  text. 


TffE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  95 


Spirit,  as  there  used,  means  mind,  and,  in  the 
connection,  wisdom  stands  for  vastly  more  than 
reading  and  writing,  more  even  than  ability  to 
repeat  the  Law  and  the  commentaries  from  end 
to  end  ;  it  expresses  all  knowledge — knowledge 
of  the  high  and  low,  of  heaven  and  earth,  of  God 
and  man ;  the  knowledge  that  needs  not  the  in- 
struction of  schools,  that  is  not  an  acquisition  at 
all,  but  an  intuition  of  the  universal ;  a  quality 
that  cannot  be  better  described  than  as  an  illu- 
minated consciousness  by  help  of  which  men  see 
the  truth  invariably  and  prophesy  and  work  mir- 
acles—  in  short,  a  quality  that  is  itself  a  mir- 
acle. I  do  not  bother  asking  how  the  lad  came 
by  the  wisdom  ;  the  words  of  the  old  Apostle  are 
enough ;  they  cover  the  process  and  the  fact — he 
filled  with  wisdom.  In  this  light  the  succeeding 
narrative  becomes  comprehensible;"  and  raising 
his  voice.  Uncle  Midas  gave  order,  "  Now  read  the 
other  verses."     The  reader  promptly  responded : 

'"48.  ^nb  roljcn  tl)cv)  eam  Ijiin,  tljey  tuerc  amaub : 

aub  1)18  motljer  saib  unto  l)iin.  Son,  tuljj)  Ijast  tl)ou 

tl)us   bmlt  tuitl)  us?    bcljolii,  tl)ij  fatl)cr  anb  3  Ijaoe 

sounlit  thee  sorroroinq. 
9* 


96  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

'"/if).  2lni)  l)e  saib  unto  tl)cin,  Cjoui  is  it  tijat  jic 
sougljt  inc  1  toist  j)c  not  tl}at  J  must  be  about  mn 
Jatljcr's  business? 

"  '  50.  3lnb  tl)en  unberstoo^  not  tl)c  sailing  roljici) 
\)t  spake  unto  tl)em.'  " 

"Ay,"  said  Uncle  Midas,  with  positive  vehe- 
mence ;  "  that  they  did  not  understand  him  helps 
us  realize  the  amazing  growth  of  the  child,  and 
how  prodigiously  out  of  the  common  he  so  early 
became.  And  then,  my  young  friends  "  —  his 
voice  fell  to  its  habitual  calm  assurance — "with 
that  realization  the  discussion  concludes  itself. 
If  any  of  you  yet  think  the  lad  came  away  from 
Jerusalem  a  common  boy,  light-hearted,  easily 
amused,  quick  at  acquaintanceship,  consider  the 
effect  upon  him  of  the  illuminated  consciousness 
I  have  ventured  in  definition  of  what  the  chroni- 
cler calls  wisdom.  It  was  a  light  which  for  him 
reached  and  laid  bare  the  infinite  mysteries  never 
so  simply  described  as  his  'Father's  business.' 
His  next  appearance  in  Nazareth,  we  may  well 
believe,  was  as  a  teacher.  Up  'midst  the  congre- 
gation he  arose,  and  going  to  the  reader's  place, 
received  the  sacred  roll  which  was  that  Sabbath's 


'AT  THE  READER'S  PLACE  IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE. 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  99 

lesson.  I  hear  the  clear  childish  voice  with 
which  he  begins,  shriller  growing  as  he  advances. 
When  at  length  he  lifts  his  eyes  from  the  page 
and  launches  into  exposition,  I  see  in  their  light 
the  first  suggestion  of  the  nimbus.  I  see  also 
his  audience,  in  amazement,  sunk  to  breathless 
silence ;  and  thinking  of  the  Virgin  Mother  behind 
the  lattice  of  the  women's  place  in  the  synagogue, 
my  sterner  nature  thrills  in  acknowledgment  of 
the  feeling  with  which  she  finished  the  white 
woollen  gown  that  covered  him  from  neck  to 
heel,  and  parted  his  locks  the  night  before  in 
the  style  of  her  own,  and  kissed  him  on  the  full 
of  the  forehead,  saying,  so  as  to  be  heard  by  him, 
'  Rabbi,  my  rabbi — thou  the  Messiah  !  It  is  good 
to  be  a  handmaiden  best  beloved  of  the  Lord 
God.'  " 

And  as  the  old  gentleman  seemed  disposed  to 
bring  his  talk  to  an  end,  John  ventured  to  speak 
up.  "  If  you  will  pardon  me,"  he  said,  "  what  do 
you  understand  by  the  term  'my  Father's  busi- 
ness ?'  " 

Uncle  Midas  gave  him  a  serious  glance,  and 
replied  : 


100  THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST. 

"My  dear  friend,  I  have  a  faith  which  in  the 
great  and  material  things,  as  it  is  permitted  me 
to  see  them,  accords  perfectly  with  the  ideas  of 
the  Christian  world,  and  it  gives  me  an  infinity 
of  pure  enjoyment.  It  is  obvious  to  me  that 
there  are  many  things  in  the  connection  which 
I  do  not  understand ;  these  all  lie  out  in  the 
field  of  conjecture.  One  of  the  clearest  obser- 
vations of  my  life  is  that  people  of  good  intent 
are  never  troubled  in  the  matter  of  religion  ex- 
cept as  they  stray  off  into  that  field.  In  return 
for  your  trust  in  me,  take  a  rule  of  conduct  good 
for  every  day's  observance :  When  you  hear  a 
man  talking  oracularly  in  definition  of  topics 
which  our  Lord  thought  best  to  leave  outside 
of  his  teachings  and  revelations,  set  it  down  that 
he  is  trenching  on  the  business  of  the  Father 
and  the  prerogative  of  the  Son ;  then  go  your 
way  and  let  him  alone.  The  rule  is,  of  course, 
applicable  only  to  subjects  classified  as  relig- 
ious." 

Here  Uncle  Midas  arose,  and  said,  with  his  old- 
school  politeness :  "  To-morrow,  my  young  fi-iends, 
or  any  time  you  choose  other  than  to  -  night,  I 


THE  BOYHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  101 


give  you  leave  to  criticise  my  talk  upon  the 
subject  dealt  with ;  you  may  even  laugh  at  me 
for  having  taken  so  many  of  your  precious  min- 
utes in  attempting  to  convince  you  that  in  fact 
Christ  had  no  boyhood  at  all;  but  now  —  the 
fiddlers  are  w^aiting  for  you — " 

"You  are  mistaken,  uncle,"  said  Nan,  with 
twinkling  eyes. 

"How  so?" 

"  They  too  are  here,  and  have  been  for  the  last 
fifteen  minutes." 

"  Oh !  very  well ;  I  am  content  with  my  short 
triumph  over  them.     Good-night  to  you  all." 

Thereupon  the  company  went  to  him  one  by 
one ;  the  boys  shook  his  hand  and  thanked  him, 
the  girls  kissed  him.  And  the  music  and  the 
dance  went  on  till  holy -day  stole  through  the 
windows. 


THE   END. 


BS2423  .2.W19 

The  boyhood  of  Christ, 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00013  2763 


